Cloth printing and cutting machine.



No. 878,681. PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908.

v0. F. SPARKS.

CLOTH PRINTING AND CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SE .4.1906.

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No. 87 ,681. PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908.

CLOTH PRINTING AND CUTTING MACHINE.

- 0. F. SPARKS.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 4. 1906.

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CLOTH PRINTING AND CUTTING MACHINE.

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PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908.

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' CLOTH PRINTING ANDCUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPTA} 1906.

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the intended use of the finished bag.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. SPARKS, OF ALTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO RIEGEL SACK COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. I

CLOTH PRINTING AND CUTTING- MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1908.

Application filed September 4. 1906. Serial No. 333.192.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES F. SPARKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alton, Madison county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cloth Printing and Cutting Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an end elevational view of my improved machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, a portion of the center being broken away Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the cutter cylinder; Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view through the cutter cylinder; and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views illustrating different positions of the pick-off cylinder.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in combination cloth-printing and cutting machines.

My present invention, so far as the cutting feature is concerned, is an improvement upon the device illustrated in United States Letters Patent N 0. 658,474, granted to me September 25, 1900. My present invention is designed particularly for printing web fabric used for making bags. This web fabric is usually obtainable in roll form, and may be or may not be sized, depending uppn 1e roll of web fabric is suitably mounted and the web fed past the printing cylinder which makes a printing impression thereon, after which the printed web passes over a cutter cylinder which maintains positive register with. the printing cylinder, and while on the cutter cylinder the web is severed into proper lengths. A pick-off cylinder takes the web from the cutter cylinder, folds it, and delivers it from the machine.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the side frames which may be of any appropriate form and material.

2 is a roll of web fabric which passes between two feeding cylinders 3 and 4. The web fabric is positively fed through the pass between these feeding cylinders.

5 indicates a printing cylinder having type on its periphery which cooperate with the Web fabric on the feeding cylinder 4.

6 are the inking rollers for supplying ink to the type on the printing cylinder 5.

7 is the cutter cylinder over which the web fabric, after being-printed, passes.

8 is the pick-off cylinder which removes the severed fabric from the cutter cylinder 7, folds the fabric and delivers it to a receiving table 9.

Power may be imparted in any suitable manner to the several moving parts of the machine.

In Fig. 1. I have shown the manner of gear- I shall not describe in detail the printing cylinder and itsinking mechanism as the cylinder may be of any well known form having secured to its surface a curved electrotype plate containing printing characters. The cutter cylinder 7, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, contains a frame for supporting and guiding the movable parts connected with the rotary cutter. This frame, as shown in the drawing, is composed of four angles 10 secured to the cylinder heads and which support plain-surfaced outside track members 11 and toothed inside track members 12.

1 3 is the arbor on which is mounted a rotary cutter 14. This arbor preferably consists of two flanged sleeve sections between which is arranged the cutting disk 14 said sleeve sections being clamped together by a through bolt 15.

16 are rollers mounted on the arbor and cooperating with the outer smooth-surfaced track members 11.

17 are lantern pinions mounted on the arbor and which cooperate with the inside toothed track members 12.

18 is a link mounted on the arbor and connected to a sprocket chain 19 mounted on sprocket wheels 20 and 21 journaled in the cutter cylinder. Sprocket wheel 20 is rovided with a miter gear 22 on its shaft w 'oh meshes with a companion gear 23 on the 8 cooperating with creasing blades 33 on the inner end of a shaft 24. Shaft 24 extends through the adjacent head of the cylinder and carries a pinion 25 meshing with an internal gear 26 fixed to the framing of the machine.

From the above it will be obvious that as the cylinder 7 is rotated, rotary motion is imparted to the sprocket 20 which causes the travel of chain 19, and consequently the arbor is compelled to travel around in the path defined by the tracks. This movement of the arbor, by reason of the fixed pinion 17 thereof meshing with the track members 12, will cause the arbor to rotate in its traveling movement.

Cylinder 7 is provided with longitudinal slots 7 a through which the cutter disk 14 projects. The fabric web, which is designated by a, being arranged upon the cylinder 7 and in the path of movement of the rotary cutter, will be cut by said cutter. 7 is preferably of such length that the rotary cutter 14 stands fully projected. through its slot before commencing its cutting action on the web. In this way a clean cut may he made. While the rotary cutting disk 14 projects alternately through the slots in the opposite side of the cutter cylinder 7, it will be obvious that, due to its rotation, the said cutting disk always occupies operative cutting position on one side, the upper, of the cylinder, said disk occupying its projected cutting position while the cutter cylinder is moving through approximately 120 degrees.

27 is a block of material fixed in the cutter cylinder at some suitable point, with which the cutter disk 14 cooperates in its travel, for the purpose of keeping the cutting edge thereof sharp.

Means for holding the web in position on the cutter cylinder consists of a rocking crank member 28 having piercing teeth 29 whose outer ends are designed to engage the web and hold it in position. There are two of these toothed crank members on the cutter cylinder, one being arranged adjacent to and just to the rear of each of the slots 7 The ends of these toothed crank members are bent (see Fig. 3) in the form of cranks 30, which cranks cooperate with a cam plate 31 bolted to the framing of the machine and arranged in the path of travel of said cranks. Whenever the ends 30 come in contact with the plate 31 the piercing fingers are retracted and release the web. After passing the plate 31 a spring 32 (see Fig. 3) acting upon the crank member 28, forces the piercing fingers 29 outwardly to again engage the web for the purpose of holding the web on the cylinder after the portion in advance of said piercing fingers is severed from the main part of the web.

Means for folding, removing and delivering the severed portion of the web consists of mechanism carried by the pick-off cylinder Cylinder cutter cylinder 7. These creasing blades 33 are arranged diametrically opposite each other and medially between the opposite slots 7 As the relation of the cutter cylinder to the pick-off cylinder is as 1 to 2, the pick-off cylinder makes two revolutions to one of the cutter cylinder, and consequently the pick-off mechanism of the cylinder cooperates alternately with both the creasing The pick-off blades on the cutter cylinder. cylinder is preferably constructed in skeleton form, that is, its periphery is made up of slats. The shaft on which the'pick-off cylin der is mounted carries yielding arms 34 to support a bar 35 at the periphery of the cylinder. a rocking plate 36, which plate is held against the bar 35 by means of a spring 37. A roller 38 arranged 011 an off-set from plate 36 and cooperating with a cam 39 causes the plate 36 to rock on its pivot at each revolution of the pickoff cylinder. The parts are so adjusted that when one of the creasing blades 33 approaches the pick-off cylinder the plate 36 is rocked so as to provide a space between the bar 35 and the plate 36, as shown in Fig. 5. The creasing blade enters this space, as shown in Fig. 5, and as the pick-off cylinder moves in the direction of the arrow it will be obvious that the action of the spring 37 and the arms 34 will be such as to pinch the creased ridge of the web and hold said web, as shown in Fig. 4. Coincident with the entrance of the creasing blade between the spring pressedmembers 35 and 36, the piercing fingers are withdrawn so as to release the forward edge of the severed piece of cloth, and this release occurs approximately at the same-time that the cutting disk 14 has completed its stroke and severed the portion of the cloth under consideration, which straddles the creasing blade now in cooperation with the pick-off cylinder. Centrifugal force tends to throw the severed por-. tion of the web away from the cutter cylinder as the creased portion is caught between the spring-pressed members 35 and 36 so that the frictional contact between the web and the surface of the cutter cylinder does not interfere with the action of the pick-off cylinder. A guard plate 40 is arranged over the printing cylinder 5 and prevents the web fromfalling thereon, as shown in Fig. 4. As the pick-off cylinder rotates it folds the two sides of the bag upon each other until such time as the roller 38 leaves the reduced portion of the cam 39 and again enters the high portion. When the high part of the cam is being ridden the members 35 and 36 are spread apart and consequently the creased side of the web is released and is acted upon by centrifugal force aided by the resistance of the air, and is thrown off from the pick-off cylinder and onto the table 9.

This yielding bar cooperates with In the construction shown in the accompanying drawings the printed side of the web is folded in, and thus the pile on the table 9 is in readiness to be sewed. Of course, after the side and end of the bag are sewed up the bag is reversed, so as to place the printed surface on the outside. By changing the position of the printing cylinder 5 and arranging it on the opposite side of the feeding cylinder 4 it is ovbious that the printing impression would be made on the opposite face of the web, and when the severed part was folded the printed side would face out. In some instances this is desirable as sewing machines are used where it is unnecessary to reverse the bag after it is sewed up.

I am aware that minor changes in the construction, arrangement and combination of the several parts of my device can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a combined cloth-printing and cutting machine, the combination with webprinting mechanism, web-feeding mechanism, a cylinder over which the web passes, cutting mechanism consisting of a single cutting member carried by the cylinderfor severing the web into lengths, and means operating after the cutting member for gripping the severed web at approximately its medial portion so as to crease, fold, and remove the severed portion of the web from the cutter cylinder; substantially as described.

2. In a combined cloth-printing and cutting machine, the combination with webprinting mechanism, web-feeding mechanism, a cutter cylinder, a cutting disk traveling longitudinally of said cutter cylinder and severing the web into lengths, creasing blades on the cutter cylinder, a pick-off cylinder, and means carried by said pick-off cylinder for taking hold of the severed por tion of the cloth at a point opposite the creasing blade; substantially as described.

3. In a combined clotkprinting and cutting machine, the combination with webprinting mechanism, web-feeding mechanism, a cutter cylinder over which the web passes, a disk cutter traveling longitudinally 55 of, the cutter cylinder and severing the web into lengths, creasing blades over which the severed portion of the web'is arranged, a pick-off cylinder, and yielding gripping devices carried byisaid pick-off cylinder and 0 cooperating with the web at a point opposite the creasing blade; substantially as de scribed.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, 5 this thirtieth day of August, 1906.

' CHARLES F. SPARKS.

Witnesses:

F. R. CORNWALL, GEORGE BAKEWELL. 

